ArticleSystematic reviews2026
Epigenetic biomarkers and the progression of Barrett's oesophagus to oesophageal adenocarcinoma: a systematic review protocol.
Article in Systematic reviews, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) is often diagnosed at a late stage and has a poor survival rate. Barrett's oesophagus (BO) is a precursor to OAC, and progression occurs in a stepwise fashion, although the annual risk of progression is relatively low. The incidence of both BO and OAC have been increasing in the Western world. At present, guidelines advise that patients with BO should undergo regular endoscopic surveillance with biopsies, with the degree of dysplasia on biopsy being used to guide further management. However, there are potential disadvantages of this surveillance approach. For example, it is invasive and expensive, and there is interobserver variability between pathologists in the assessment of dysplasia. There is an urgent clinical need for new approaches to identify which patients with BO are at high risk of progression. Biomarkers could potentially be used to risk-stratify patients with BO. Epigenetic changes can occur early in the neoplastic progression of BO, making them attractive for use as potential biomarkers.
methodsA systematic review will be performed to investigate whether epigenetic biomarkers, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs, can predict the risk of progression of patients with BO to high-grade dysplasia or OAC. The electronic databases Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection will be searched for terms relating to biomarkers, methylation, epigenetics, BO, and OAC. Observational (case-control, retrospective cohort, and prospective cohort) studies and interventional studies will be eligible for inclusion. Studies will be screened independently by two reviewers, and relevant data will be extracted from eligible studies. The risk of bias will be assessed for each study. Random effects meta-analyses will be carried out if possible, otherwise a synthesis without meta-analysis will be performed. DISCUSSION: This systematic review aims to assess whether epigenetic biomarkers can predict progression of BO to OAC. This is an important clinical question, with national gastroenterology societies advising that risk stratification biomarkers could significantly improve the care of patients with BO. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: This systematic review protocol has been registered in PROSPERO (international prospective register of systematic reviews), with registration number CRD42024509643.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.